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Independent Film Production

Codename: Rendlesham

Deconstructing the legend of the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident. A documentary film.

The story of an incredible series of events that took place in Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk, England. The incident involved USAF personnel in a close encounter with unknown craft at the very perimeter of RAF Woodbridge. Being leased to the USAF at the time the twin bases of RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters were highly sensitive as they ( although denied at the time ) housed nuclear weapons.

In the last few days of 1980 several security personnel investigated “lights” in the woods at the end of the runway, believing them to be some kind of downed aircraft. What followed over the next few nights has now become part of UFO legend. Little was known of the case by the wider public until 1983 when, through the FOIA the Halt memo was released by the US government. The memo consisted of a brief by Lt.col. Charles Halt to the M.O.D outlining the events. This was a sensational story for the media and became headline news in the UK. The case was immediately debunked by skeptics, more participants began to emerge and anybody who was anybody in the UFO community began to speculate.

The dates given in the Halt memorandum for the sightings were later found to be incorrect. It’s this confusion in part that has led to widespread confusion about the case and subsequent explanations as to the source of the sightings. Indeed it’s the huge amount of conflicting data, counter claims and the incredible mountains of paper trails that have made this, like the Roswell case a minefield for any researcher.

Arguments between the different camps have added to the haze surrounding this now most embarrassing of episodes for the USAF/MOD. What, if this is true, are the security implications of this? According to the MOD the case was considered to be of no defence interest.

Could it be that thousands of man hours have been spent by both governments over the years on what is no more than a group of personnel mistaking a lighthouse, soviet satellite or even a tractor as alien visitors? Is it really of no defence significance that the men guarding a nuclear weapons facility could be “off their heads”, chasing lights in the woods?

Despite the many claims and theories that have grown legs over the years, there is one which won’t go away. It has been a thorn in the side for many who hold tight to the idea that Rendlesham is the beacon of proof that we are not alone.

First round of interviewing begins – MAY 6th 2008

Preliminary interviewing and filming began in April, mostly in the Woodbridge area as well as a shoot at the National Archives in Kew, London. Of interest was a visit to the Bentwaters Cold War Museum, an authentic recreation of a Cold War operations post, situated on Bentwaters airfield. The museum has been painstakingly outfitted by an independent team of enthusiasts led by the museum’s technical advisor Graham Haynes, who sat for an interview. If you are interested in military/aviation history or just want to ponder how close we came to WW3, then it’s definitely worth a visit. More info here

An interview with David Clarke at the National Archives, focused mainly on the MOD’s involvement and subsequent investigation of the Rendlesham case. David has been working with the National Archives to aid the release of the MOD’s remaining UFO files (whether they contain any new information on Rendlesham remains to be seen), which should hit the news sometime over the coming weeks. You can keep up to date with David’s research on his website, linked below.